NIC-10 Softball: Five-time champ Hononegah favored again

NIC-10 contenders are once again gunning for Hononegah, which has won five consecutive league softball titles.

But they are chasing the Indians with a smile, not gritted teeth.

“It’s always been a fun challenge,” Harlem coach Jen Corwin said.

“Hononegah is the team we always try to beat,” Freeport all-state catcher Jordan Olson said. “Even if we don’t, we work to beat them.”

Challengers have not grown frustrated trying, and failing, to knock the Indians from their perch atop the NIC-10.

“There’s obviously a big bull’s-eye on your back each and every year you win conference,” Hononegah coach Kurt Head said, “but the girls keep it under control and respect the game.

“I like it. I expect it,” Head said of Harlem, Boylan and Freeport — traditionally the next three-best teams in the conference — taking aim at Hononegah, but still liking and respecting the Indians. “A lot of it is just because of the way we play the game. We have been very successful in the conference, but we do it in a respectful way.”

Most of the frustration at the top of the conference comes from Hononegah. For all their regular season success, the Indians have not won a sectinoal title since their second state trip a decade ago.

Now, with six four-year starters returning, including conference MVP Chloe Howerth and pitchers Bailey Craig and Arianna Kim, the Indians think this is the year that should change.

“It’s very important to these girls,” Head said. “It’s something we talk about every day, about our goals and what we’re building toward.

“These seniors, as successful as they have been in conference and regionals, they have never won a sectional game, much less a sectional title. It’s one of the things that has these girls so focused.

“There are some strong teams in the sectional, like DeKalb, Zion-Benton and Warren, but I do feel this is the year that things can fall in place and we could make a run. These seniors really want to have something they can go out with.”

First, they’ll have to get past Harlem and Boylan. Harlem starts with junior all-conference pitcher Olivia Fluehr, while Boylan counters with a lineup as deep and powerful as Hononegah’s.

“When Olivia is on, she can control the game, no matter who she is playing,” Head said. “It could be tougher this year with Harlem with Olivia and Boylan with the best offensive team in the area.”

Harlem snapped Hononegah’s string of four consecutive regional titles with a 10-6 upset last year, which has the Huskies dreaming of a big year themselves.

“We will definitely make a run for the conference title,” Corwin said. “Our hitting is better and Olivia has great movement on her ball with some speed. She is getting smarter every year that she is throwing.